What did the ram in the thicket become when Abraham offered Isaac?
God provided a ram in the thicket when Abraham was about to offer Isaac, and that ram became the substitute. It did not become Isaac, but it took Isaac’s place as the offering. Scripture presents the ram as the God-provided substitute, not as Isaac himself.
Les explains that just as Abraham was ready to fulfill the command to offer his son Isaac, God provided the ram in the thicket. The ram did not become Isaac; it became the substitute. Les uses this as an illustration of Christ’s substitutionary work: Christ did not become a vile sinner, but He took upon Himself all the sins of the human race without becoming a sinner, taking the place where you and I should have died. He did not become any particular person, but He merely became our substitute.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.